Indian Wells Tennis Garden and BNP Paribas Open owner Larry Ellison promised the $70 million expansion will put an emphasis on the landscape and two restaurants in the new 8,000-seat stadium that is scheduled to be completed in time for next year’s tournament.
The new stadium is located behind the current food court on the northeast part of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. It will complement the 16,100-seat main stadium, which is the second-largest tennis stadium in the world.
The expansion also includes 2,000 additional parking spaces and lush landscaping and trees to provide additional shade for fans.
Last year’s attendance numbers were just over 370,000, and tournament officials think this year they have a chance to reach 390,000 fans.
“We’re all very excited about this day,” said Federer, the winningest player at the BNP Paribas Open with four titles. “We’re very happy to see the big expansions happening around tennis tournaments — new tennis courts, new center courts, new flowers, restaurants. It’s wonderful and exciting.
Once the expansion is completed to the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, the tournament has set a five-year goal to increase attendance to 500,000, which would make it the third-most-attended tennis event in the world, surpassing the French Open and Wimbledon, based on last year’s attendance numbers.
“I think the players are really going to like it,” said tournament CEO Raymond Moore. “It will be a very intimate stadium with the fans very close to the action.”